OK, World War III, check. Ruined society, check. Minimal survivors, check. Mutants... no!?

After the fallout comes the pain, right? Yasuaki Nakajima gives us a 70-minute diddy about what the aftermath might be like, that is, if no one could talk any more. Basically, it involves a lot of scouring for food. And when the going gets tough, the tough get tasty.

I'll leave it at that. Watching After the Apocalypse doesn't really amount to much more than a quick visit with a handful of crazed mutes. That's not a terribly bad way to spend an hour, but for my money you have to provide more than mood music and grainy 16mm black and white film to make it worth my while. Nakajima seems to run out of steam midway through, which unfortunately causes us to lose interest just as his story takes a turn for the freaky. Silent films are a tough sell in 2004, I'm afraid.

It's nice work for an indie (and it's busy making the rounds at various festivals), but don't expect a mind-blowing experience... or a theatrical release.



Not a fetish movie.